Hundreds of ostriches were culled at Universal Ostrich Farms in British Columbia after a lengthy legal and public campaign failed to stop the action.
The birds were exposed to avian influenza (H5N1/Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza), and Canadian authorities decided to proceed with the cull after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear a final appeal from the farm’s owners.
It turns out the move may have been a snub to the U.S., as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and New York billionaire John Catsimatidis endeavored to save the birds.
The mass killing unfolded at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, British Columbia, hours after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to block a federal order to cull the flock following an avian flu outbreak, CBC reported.Canada apparently snubbed its neighbor to the south by refusing to spare the 330 giant birds to be used for research purposes.“That’s a real f–k you to everyone in the United States,” Catsimatidis told The Post last month.“Something smells.”
It appears the Canadian public health bureaucrats considered the ostriches —some of which were over 30 years old and all of which had been named, like chickens —in giving the order. One of the farm’s owners shared her grief over the loss… which appears needless, as the flock appeared mostly healthy after the flu outbreak cleared in mid-January.
Katie Pasitney, daughter of farm owner Karen Pasitney, sobbed while telling the Daily Mail about the loss of the birds, saying: ‘They made a mistake, these animals aren’t poultry, some of them were 35 years old, and every single one had a name.’My mom lost everything she loved. Those birds were all that kept her happy. They killed all her babies, and now they’re still lying there under a tarp.’The deaths came months after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) began investigating the farm following an anonymous report in December that alleged roughly 30 ostrich deaths within three weeks.Subsequent testing confirmed two birds had contracted H5N1 avian influenza, a highly contagious strain of bird flu. Agency records showed deaths continued through mid-January, ultimately totaling 69.Pasitney recently pleaded with the Supreme Court of Canada to halt the cull, insisting the birds were healthy and posed no threat to public safety.
In other words, the survivors of the bird flu had antibodies. They would have bred to produce birds with a more robust response to the strain. In fact, Kennedy recognized this potential when he moved to save the birds.
Kennedy had argued the animals exposed to flu may hold potential for disease research, but the agency said there was no evidence for this and yesterday the Canadian Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the case, removing the last legal roadblock to prevent their culling.
Interestingly, Pasitney’s mother, Karen Espersen, who owns the farm, was in the process of developing antibody therapies using ostrich egg yolks because ostriches have a robust immune system.
Espersen, along with partner Dave Bilinski, had been working with a laboratory in eastern Canada to develop antibody therapeutics derived from ostrich egg yolks.Ostriches, the largest birds on the planet, possess an exceptionally strong immune system and can generate antibodies to viruses, including COVID-19, within weeks of exposure.’Working with a lab back east, we inoculated our hens with the dead COVID-19 virus,’ Espersen explained to North Shore News in 2021. ‘The hen produces antibodies in two weeks, and two weeks after that, she puts them into her eggs.’The team later began developing a nasal spray capable of neutralizing the virus, including the Delta variant, and envisioned a product ‘everyone could keep in their pocket or medicine cabinet.’
Ultimately, these ostriches succumbed to a toxic dose of Canadian bureaucracy that Trump Derangement Syndrome might have compounded.
Public health officials are already suffering from a loss of respect and trust because of their handling of COVID-19. The Canadian bureaucrats lowered this level even further.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY